Sir, – Conor Foley (June 15th) must be reading the wrong report. The Croke Park implementation body deals with the issue of increased pension costs on page 4 of its report, not in a “subsection of the report”.
It estimates increased pension costs at €500 million between 2009 and 2015. And it takes account of this projected increase in its estimate of overall payroll savings under the Croke Park agreement. In other words, the projected savings are net of any increase in pension costs.
The report also makes the point that the expected increase in pension costs is not due to Croke Park measures. There have been virtually no enhanced pensions under the agreement and the vast majority of early retirements have been cost neutral, with pension payments reduced to reflect any reduction in service.
Rather, the increase in the pension bill between 2009 and 2015 will result from factors like increased survival rates of existing pensioners and the demographic profile of the public service, which sees increasing numbers approaching retirement now because of substantial public service recruitment in the 1970s. – Yours, etc,